This is the puffiest, lightest puff pastry I know, not that hard to make, and because it freezes really well, it can be made whenever you have a quiet patch at home and stored for use later in the month. The recipe is based on an old English method from the late 1800s that varies slightly from the French puff pastry recipes from that era in that it adds much more butter to the dough and, in turn, uses less during the rolling. This makes the rolling much easier and produces a very delicate and tender pastry once baked, and one that I prefer eating.

550g flour (half strong and half plain)

¾ tsp salt

550g unsalted butter, soft enough to be pliable

200ml cold water

2 tsp lemon juice

Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, cut 150g of the butter into small pieces and rub this through until it vanishes. Mix the lemon juice and the water, add this to the flour and lightly knead to form a rough-looking but evenly combined dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to about 50cm by 30cm. Slice the butter and lay this over two-thirds of the dough. Fold the unbuttered dough third over the buttered one, then flip that over the remaining buttered third so that the butter is wrapped inside the dough. Take a rolling pin and lightly roll the upper surface of the dough to press out any air bubbles. Seal the edges with a sharp whack of the pin.

Then give the pastry what is known as one single turn. Roll the pastry out towards the folds until it measures roughly 60cm by 25cm, then fold the pastry in by thirds again. Place the pastry on a plate, cover with cling film, and chill for 30 minutes.

Give the pastry a further two turns, without resting in between, then cover and chill again for one hour. Give the pastry two more turns, then rest again. Before using, it is best to give the pastry a further turn.

Apple turnovers

Makes 8

Use one quantity of the pastry above. Make the filling ahead and allow to cool. Take 8 medium-sized braeburn or similar dessert apples, about a kilo in weight, and peel, core and dice into 1cm pieces. Place these in a saucepan with six whole cloves, a good pinch of cinnamon, the juice of ½ a lemon, 25g unsalted butter and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Stick the lid on and cook over a moderate heat until the butter melts and the apples have softened. Remove the lid, add 25g caster sugar and cook gently for a further 5 minutes until the apple pieces dry a little. Then leave to cool and pick out the whole cloves. Next, roll the pastry to about 3-4 mm thick and cut rounds using a saucer. Roll the pastry slightly across the centre to turn the disc of pastry into an oval. Lightly brush the edges with water and spoon on a generous amount of apple to cover one half of the pastry. Fold the pastry over and press the edges with a fork to seal. Finish the other pastries, then chill or freeze on a tray for 20 minutes while you heat the oven to 200C (180C fan-assisted). Brush beaten egg over the turnovers, sprinkle with demerara or caster sugar if you like and bake for 45 minutes.

Tried and tested

'Making and eating these apple turnovers took me back to my childhood - a great English tradition'